an invitation to trouble

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan found Hayden where he usually did--behind the counter of the bookstore, with Lucifer perched not too far away, pretending that he didn't like her even though Ethan had never seen him more than 6 feet away from wherever she had settled in. He gave the cat a playful salute, then leaned on the counter to hold out a pretty white envelope with a red seal to Hayden.

"So, I don't have a book for you this time, but I do have this…" he told her, a sly grin already resting on his lips. He hadn't opened the clearly expensive envelope himself, but he didn't need to. He already knew it was an invitation to a masquerade ball being held by one of the largest and most important families in all Teronna. He also knew, but the envelope didn't say, that several members of that particular family had allied themselves with the Unseelie--hence his invitation. He planned to excuse it to Hayden that he'd been asked to go as part of a job...which was true, in its way.

He was excited about this--it was an opportunity to push things in a different direction with Hayden Faragher . He was asking her to be his date, essentially...and there was a distinct possibility she could turn him down.

[Hayden Faragher]

Hayden was glad for spring as she could start leaving the door open again. The Rock with poorly painted Cat to look like Lucifer acted as sentry as it held the door open. Because of this, she couldn’t hear the bells that usually signaled a customer. She didn’t see Ethan at first, her nose too buried in her current book to notice.

When the envelope came into her periphriales, she looked up, seeing Ethan there with a sly grin on his face. She didn’t have to ask, to know that that smile meant trouble. “And what is it?” She asked with a coy smile of her own, looking playfully at him until her blue eyes looked at the envelope. The first thing she noticed was the paper. Far to expensive and nice to be any regular old envelope. She marked the place in her book by shoving a bookmark into it and then almost hesitantly, she reached up for the envelope. Fingers gently grasped the sides with the lightest of touches, afraid it would crumble in front of her, or worse, she’d ruin it.

Her eyes looked over the front of it. Ethan’s name was scratched onto the front in what could only be described as neat chicken scratch. Her eyes glanced up at him, arching a brow at him in curiosity, before she turned the invitation over in her hands. She stared at the seal on the back. Not recognizing who it belonged too. Her fingers ran over the wax, realizing he hadn’t opened it yet. “You haven’t opened it.” She stated the obvious. Her brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. Did he want her too?

She wasn’t able to hide the curiosity for much longer, her eyes were flickering up at him in confusion as she broke the wax. She could only assume that he wanted her to open it. Why else hand it to her? Opening the envelope, she carefully pulled out the contents to realize it was a invitation. Sher eyes ran over the contents of it before they turned to large saucers. “How did you get invited to a ball?!” She blurted in shock. The surprise was clear on her face. It was a nobles ball and it was clear that those of noble blood, and or those personally invited by a McIntyre or Lee Frye could attend.

Her hand flipped the envelope over to see Ethan’s name again on the front. He certainly had friends in high places didn’t he? “Well aren’t you fancy.” She said as a smile broadened. She tucked the invite back into the envelope and reached up to hand it back to him. “You and Finn will have to tell me all about it afterwards.” She told him. She’d seen the plus one on the invitation and could only assume Ethan would be taking his brother.

[Ethan Carver]

“You haven’t opened it.”

"Mhmm…" he agreed with a slow nod, expecting that she'd pick up on the fact that he wanted her to do it.

Ethan waited impatiently for her to open the envelope, watching her expression change as she realized what she had in her hands. Her surprise was a treat--it wasn't often that he had a chance to get her a little off-balance, and he was having fun with this one. She got the ball part right quick, but apparently, she wasn't catching on to the rest.

“How did you get invited to a ball?!” Ethan's smirk was steady, and he just raised an eyebrow, still waiting for her to catch on. It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?

“You and Finn will have to tell me all about it afterward.”

Oh, gods, she thought he was taking Finn? As his date? Pff. As if he could even get Finn to attend a commoners' party, let alone a nobles' one. Finn had seemed relieved to be in the background, not stuck socializing in the crowd. Ethan's smirk broadened into a gloriously smug grin. This was going to be too good.

"Finn's not attending as a guest. He's helping with setup and food, I think. But I got asked to blend in." He tapped the edge of the invitation, but didn't take it back from her. "And to do that, I've got to dance."

"So I thought to myself: if I've got the opportunity, why not share it with my favorite book-shop owner?" His grin faded a little as he looked at her more earnestly, head canting slightly to the side. "What do you think, Hayd? You wanna go to a masquerade with me?"

[Hayden Faragher]

Uh oh. That smirk meant trouble. Hayden was quickly realizing that it wasn’t Finn he was intending to take, but her. That smug grin told her as much that she’d made a mistake in thinking it had been Finn he was taking to a ball.

Her eyes were going wide, in surprise. He’d wanted to see her knocked off her game? Well he’d certainly done that. He was explaining his situation to her, but Ethans voice was fading, as Hayden was starting to hear a ringing noise. She felt the world crashing in on her, and she actually reached over to pinch herself to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. Ethan was asking her to be his date to a ball.

“I have nothing to wear!” Was her crying response. She reached both her hands up to cup her cheeks as she stared in horror at Ethan. “I can’t go to a ball! Look at me!” She whined. She could feel her face going pink. She was not worthy of a noble ball. Not given her past life. She’d just… taint everything, right? “Oh, Ethan…” Hayden covered her face with her hands, let out a disgruntled moan of dismay. It wasn’t a flat out no, but…. Did he really want to take her? She peaked at him between her fingers, bringing her hands down as she sighed, chewing on her lip. “And if I can’t dance?” She asked him with a grumble.

She certainly read about masquerade balls. The romantic intrigue behind them that was straight from a story. Pretending to be something you weren’t, being your real self. She had to admit there was an appeal to it, and she’d never thought she’d ever get invited to an event like this before…

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan scoffed. Excuses, excuses. She was whining, but he could tell she was excited about it. Or at least, he thought he could. Hayd was constantly saying one thing and meaning another, though, so he couldn't be completely certain.

"If a girl like you can't dance, I'd be shocked. But even so, they're giving me lessons before I go, and the man's 'sposed to lead anyhow." He grinned. "And I think you can find something to wear; you're resourceful, and you've got some time."

"So," he began, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his heels a bit. "I'm not going to let you worm out of it with a lame excuse. Either you want to go to a fancy ball with me, or you don't. If you want to, we'll make it work. If you don't, I'll get out of your hair." He raised his eyebrows at her. "What do you say?"

[Hayden Faragher]

A laugh bubbled up from her throat as he said he'd be shocked she couldn't dance. He'd clearly never seen her dance, and she wasn't about to tell him the dancing she knew how to do was not ballroom appropriate, but more suited towards a bedroom. She wasn't going to put more wild ideas in his head like that. "So you're telling me to wear steel-toed shoes so I can prepare my toes to be stepped on?" She asked with a teasing tone. There was an amused grin on her face, before it faded away and those bright blues of hers looked down at the invitation once more.

She bit her bottom lip, contemplating it. She supposed she could find something to wear, but there was a part of her that at least wanted to look like she wasn't some...well bookstore owner. She wasn't going to steal a dress of course, but she wondered if she had the time to actually make one.

She'd just have to try and find out now, wouldn't she?

At his final offer, she raised her eyes and finally sighed dramatically. Letting her head fall back as she leaned back on the stool, holding onto the counter. "Fiiiiiiiiiiiiine, I'll do it." She told him. "I've nothing better to do anyway." She confessed when really... Hayden actually wanted to go. To feel like a character out of one of the many books she'd read. For once, maybe she wanted to feel like Cinderella. And Ethan? Well, he was her fairy devil...

[Ethan Carver]

Ethan waited none-too-patiently for her to decide, but as soon as she sighed like it was the end of the world, he knew he'd won. He lit up like a child at Yule, and he barely stopped himself from pumping his fists or doing some other kind of victory dance. This was going to be too much fun.

"Excellent," he declared. "I'll come pick you up from here, day of. Oh, and I'll get you a mask, too, if you need me to." He finally couldn't restrain himself and tapped his hands rapidly on the counter in a little rhythm, venting some of his excitement. "I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am."

His grin vanished as he realized he'd been hanging around here too long. He was supposed to be headed to a job.

"Shit, I gotta run. But don't forget! I'll pick you up an hour before!"